Review: tether tug interactive dog toy

Does your dog love to tug? Our chocolate Labrador thinks it’s the best game there is. She carries around toys all the time hoping that one of our other dogs or a human member of our family will play with her. Thanks to the Tether Tug, now she can play anytime she wants!

It’s not often that I’m so impressed with a product right away, but the minute you pull the Tether Tug out of the box you can tell that it is made with durable, quality materials. As you’ll see in my video review, our dogs took to it right away. We’ve been very happy with it.

When I first heard of the Tether Tug dog toy, I was a little skeptical. I mean, the idea behind it is great, but would dogs really use this interactive toy? I found out very quickly that they will!

I had never seen anything like this dog toy before, and I’m sure you haven’t either. It’s definitely unique and would make an ideal gift for any dog with excessive energy.

The design is simple, and I was surprised at how easy it was to install. I’m definitely not a mechanically inclined person, and I had no trouble installing the Tether Tug in our yard.

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Tether Tug Interactive Dog Toy Review

In my video review above I demonstrate how to install this product. You’ll see that the Tether Tug arrives in two pieces. The pole and tug toy come fully assembled, and it includes a metal base.

The metal base is wedged at the bottom, making it easy to drive into the ground. At first, I thought I’d need to use a board to disperse force of the sledge hammer. However, as you’ll see in the video, the steel is thick enough that it will not bend from the hammer blows.

It only took me about 3 minutes to drive the base of the Tether Tug into the ground. Of course, if you happen to find a rock or there is a lot of ledge on your property you may have a harder time finding a good spot.

You’ll want to leave about 1 inch of the base sticking out of the ground. This will make it much easier to move if need be.

Once the base is firmly in the ground, you can slide the pole in easily. That’s it! Now your Tether Tug is ready for use!

Typically, you’ll probably need to play with your dog for a little while to get him interested in this toy. You could wiggle the tug toy around to entice your Fido to bite onto it, and eventually he’ll figure out what it’s for and should enjoy using it on his own.

I doubt it’s always that easy to engage a dog, but it clearly enticed our dogs right away.

As you can see in my video, our high energy Labrador Retriever grabbed onto the Tether Tug just moments after I finished installing it. She loves to tug and she’s also always looking for something that excites her. The lab is a breed that enjoys mental stimulation, and I was pleased to find out that the Tether Tug meets both her mental and physical needs.

The Tether Tug is available in five sizes including:

• Puppy/Mini Tug – for dogs under 15 pounds
• Original –for dogs 16-30 pounds
• Large – for dogs 31-60 pounds
• Extra Large –for dogs 61-99 pounds
• Uber – for dogs weighing more than 100 pounds

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The company has also created an indoor Tether Tug that can be used by dogs weighing less than 30 pounds. It seems like it may be a little bit too much excitement for an inside play toy, but I guess it would depend on how much space you have and how energetic your dog is.

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I have the large size Tether Tug, and as you can see our lab pulls on it with a lot of force, and she has never bent the pole, pulled it out of the ground or tipped it over. You’ll also notice that our little Beagle mix enjoys playing with this too.

She only weighs about 20 pounds, but she does just fine with the large size. She just can’t pull it back as far as our Labrador can.

There isn’t a lot of information on the company’s website about the materials used to make the Tether tug, aside from the metal base and the rope toys. However, they do state that every Tether Tug is handmade right here in the U.S.A.

The only thing that worries me is the plastic-type covering over the pole and the plastic that covers the top of the rope holding the tug toy. As we all know, there are many harmful chemicals in plastic, so it would beneficial to know exactly what types of materials these are.

The Tether Tug comes with one tug toy that attaches via a carabiner clip. You can buy other toys as well, which will help to keep your pet interested in the product. Like us, dogs don’t want to entertain themselves with the same thing day in and day out. Buying a few toys and switching them out every few days would be helpful to keep your engaged in the Tether Tug.

Like other products, the price of the Tether Tug differs depending on the size that you need. They range in price from $49.99-$64.99. You can buy some sizes on Amazon, but you’ll want to check out their website for the full product range. You can also pick up replacement toys on Amazon for about $10.

Video: tether tug install and play time with maggie

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Summary of the Tether Tug Interactive Dog Toy Review

PROS:

• VERY easy to install
• Durable
• Available in many sizes for all breeds
• Engages your dog both mentally and physically
• You can purchase interchangeable tug toys to keep your pooch entertained

CONS:

• Unclear on all materials used to make the product
• More expensive than traditional dog toys

Now it’s your turn to review the Tether Tug

Do you have one of these durable dog toys for your pooch? Did they take to it as quickly as our dogs did? How has it held up over time? I’d love to hear your personal review of the Tether Tug, especially if you have a very aggressive chewer. Did it stand up to his jaws? Let us know if the comments below or share your photos and videos on our Facebook page.

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